Southern Grind Cofé

Riding the theme of being “unapologetically original,” Horatio Isadore is forging connections in North Baton Rouge with his new coffee shop, Southern Grind Cofé.

Horatio Isadore poured his first cup of coffee eighteen years ago at House of Java—a shop he opened in his hometown of Alexandria, La. Even though his first-day sales totaled just $7.48, he said he knew he was in the right business. In years to follow, House of Java moved into the Southern University Law Center where it was quite successful. But Isadore noticed the need for an off-campus shop in north Baton Rouge—a shop that he would one day open. On March 5, he did just that with Southern Grind Cofé.

Riding the theme of being “unapologetically original,” Isadore spent the top of 2018 preparing to join the community at-large. He’s a one-man show at the open-space shop, named for a combination of the words café and coffee (shop). Customers are typically greeted by Isadore at the door, who later takes drink and food orders at the counter, prepares them, and, depending on the foot traffic, might even deliver the order to one’s table. The shop is hard to notice from the street, but the door is often open, encouraging a free flow of foot traffic; the occasional strain of classic soul or jazz music floats from the shop and intrigues passers-by. More than just opening a business, Isadore has made Southern Grind Cofé a resident in its traditionally black Scotlandville neighborhood.

Inside, Southern Grind boasts blue walls and a comfortable vibe, with a variety of tables, bookshelves, and sofas too. On one wall, customers are invited to answer the question, “What makes you unapologetic?”

“Doing something as unique as what we’re doing really requires the community to embrace you first, because if you don’t respect the history they’ve created, they’ll notice that you’re not being genuine,” said Isadore. “My desire to be in this community is really about people always speaking about why things shouldn’t be here, as opposed to why things need to be here. That narrative has been going for a minute. This is a very unique community—it’s deeply rooted, has a rich, rich tradition, and is made up primarily of African Americans. I wanted to make sure that I ingratiated myself with the people in the community around me, so I try to speak to everyone and develop some sort of relationship.”

As more people learn about Southern Grind Cofé and begin to visit the Scotlandville area, Isadore said he hopes they will notice the true beauty of the neighborhood while they are there enjoying the small atmosphere he’s created.

Much like Isadore’s slow start in Alexandria, Southern Grind Cofé ended its first day with low sales—to the tune of eighty-five cents, when someone randomly entered the shop, noticed the fresh fruit selection, and bought a piece. The first cup sold two days later and was the only sale of that day. Isadore was then reminded of how much times have changed since the year 2000: now, there’s social media marketing. He contacted a firm to create the shop’s online presence. Not knowing much about social media, he was pleasantly surprised when an influx of foot traffic began to patronize the shop, but in the midst of that, a major trending topic occurred.

“The social media manager called me to tell me that she was about to launch the campaign,” Isadore said. “Then around 11 am that same day, a customer I had never seen came in and ordered something. I served him and sat back down. Then three people walked in and about forty-five minutes later, someone else walked in, then I thought, ‘Well, what the hell is going on?’ I looked at my Instagram and noticed we were up to ninety-five followers. Shortly after the Starbucks thing happened and then the #BuyBlack movement, then everything changed.”

Isadore said up until that point, he had not known his business was the city’s first black-owned coffee shop. “I was just doing what I would normally do—I just followed my dreams. I want us [African Americans] to support something for the sake of supporting something, but I want to be known for doing good business and serving good products.”

Keeping things local is very important to Isadore. As he continues to grow Southern Grind Cofé in the community, he has allowed for events, discussions, and large meetings to take place in the shop, including a meet and greet discussion hosted by East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome in May, during National Small Business Week. Isadore is also working with the Boys and Girls Club through Americorps members to begin hosting children’s events. As more people learn about Southern Grind Cofé and begin to visit the Scotlandville area, Isadore said he hopes they will notice the true beauty of the neighborhood while they are there enjoying the small atmosphere he’s created.

“I wouldn’t really be able to do this without the people in this community,” said Isadore, who also has a business center planned for Southern Grind. “To a lot of people, it’s a high risk, but to me it really, really, really wasn’t. I looked around at all the traffic and high energy, and there are really some beautiful people in this community.”